The Country Bears: Danni's Story
by Nathan Lane-Beatles Luvr
Summary: we all know Beary's story. But what if he had a sister and he asked her to come with him on his trip to Country Bear Hall? And what if she fell in love with the one and only Zeb Zoober? find out!
1. Chapter 1

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANIELLE. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY.**

**Chapter 1**

My younger brother and I were sitting in his and Dexter's room watching one of our Country Bears videos. It was about the 1991 Hibernation Tour and we were both transfixed. The Country Bears were our favorite band.

Oh, yeah, I'm Danielle Barrington, but I am better known as Danni. My younger brother is Beary Barrington. Yes, we're both actual bears. Beary had light brown fur and brown eyes, but I had dark brown fur and green eyes.

You're probably wondering how much younger Beary was than me. Well, we were both found by the Barrington's when we were cubs, but I was old enough to remember. Beary wasn't. Beary is 11 years old and I'm 18. Dexter was a human and he was between the two of us. Dexter is 13 years old.

"Hey, Beary, Danni!" Dexter called from downstairs.

We didn't really respond at first because we were still in our own little world while watching The Country Bears. Well, actually, we were in two different worlds. Beary was watching The Country Bears as whole, but I was focused entirely on one bear.

Zeb Zoober. Now, I know what you're thinking; out of the four males that were in The Country Bears, I was crushing on Zeb? Yes, I know that he was the unlikely choice to be crushing on, but…no actually, he was the likely choice.

Obviously, I wasn't interested in Tennessee because his heart belonged to Trixie, and I love their relationship, so not him. Ted was so grumpy and ill-tempered, and that wasn't something I liked, so not Ted. Fred was adorable but he simply wasn't my type. So there you go, Zeb was my choice.

Besides that, the second that I saw him for the first time (in a video) I fell for him. And I fell hard. I mean, I'm not obsessive but I do…well…I love him. You've probably heard that one from teenage girls before but I truly meant it. I love Zeb Zoober; it was as simple as that.

"Doofuses! It's time for dinner!"

That time we did hear Dexter calling. I jumped up and pulled Beary along with me after stopping the video. We went downstairs and sat down at the table. I noticed that Beary was sniffing at his fish and then he asked the question that I knew he would one day.

"Mom, are Danni and I adopted?" he asked. I had figured it out a long time ago but I didn't want to tell Beary. He would know when Mom and Dad felt he was old enough.

"Of course not, honey."

…this apparently wasn't today.

_Yes you are_, mouthed Dexter. Dad whacked him on the head with the newspaper he was reading as he said, "Uh, why would you think that Beary?"

"I don't know," Beary said. "Sometimes I feel different, and I think Danni does, too. Like Dex and me; we don't look the same. Our eyes are different colors, and he has freckles, and I don't…I think."

Dexter looked outraged. "Are you serious? That's why you think you're different?"

_Whack! _Dad hit him with the newspaper again. I wasn't saying anything because I already knew and Mom and Dad knew that I knew. I had told them a couple years ago that I knew and they asked me to keep quiet about it around Beary, that they would tell him eventually.

I agreed and since then, I had remained quiet.

"You know, um, last week it was casual Friday at the office, and I guess I forgot," Dad said, pointing at his head when he said 'forgot', "and I wore a tie."

Mom and Dad started cracking up but Dex, Beary, and I just watched them, not laughing. I raised an eyebrow…or I tried to. I wasn't entirely sure that I _had_ eyebrows.

"And, boy, did I feel different. Yeah. The point is that it's not unusual to feel different, and…those differences always lead us to our higher purpose."

I rolled my eyes; I had heard this little speech when I confessed that I knew I was adopted. It was nice but personally, I thought it was a load of bull. Probably because I hadn't found my higher purpose yet.

"Higher purpose?" Beary asked. He looked extremely confused. I didn't blame him, he was only a little kid, how in the name of Zeb Zoober was he supposed to know what "higher purpose" meant?

"Honey," Mom interjected. "Even if you _were_ adopted, we would love you as much as we love Dexter."

"Maybe more," Dad said.

I thought that was going a little far. You aren't supposed to love one kid more than the other. Sometime you can't help it, but that didn't mean you had to voice that you felt like that.

"Just remember, son, the people who love you no matter what…that's your family," Dad said.

"Okay…I'm going to go practice."

"Yeah, me too," I spoke up. Both Beary and I played guitar, although I preferred to play electric guitar and Beary preferred acoustic.

We stood up and Beary said, "Did you know the Bears made the only country song ever to be recorded in Polish?"

I could tell Dexter was in a bad mood now because he used his most sarcastic tone and said, "Wow, really? And did you know that _nobody cares_!"

Dad tried to whack Dex with the newspaper again, but Dex blocked with his spoon.

When we went back upstairs, we both practiced our guitars in our separate rooms. I could hear Beary strumming the tune to "Where Nobody Knows My Name", but I focused on my playing.

I was playing a part from "Straight to the Heart of Love". That was one of my favorite songs by the Bears. I was doing pretty well, and I like to think that Zeb would be proud of me. But maybe that was wishful thinking.

Anyway, I had just put away my guitar when I heard Dexter walk into his and Beary's room and say, "Way to go, doofus. You're like totally wrecking this family."

I walked out of my room and leaned on the door frame of Beary's room, and listened in. They didn't mind and Beary said, "Um, what are you talking about?"

Dex sighed and said, "You really wanna know what I'm talking about?"

Beary nodded and Dex got up and went over to a closet. He reached up and pulled out the box he was looking for. At this point I walked over to Dex's bed and sat down.

Dex pulled out a photo and said, "Okay, this is my baby picture."

He pulled out another photo and said, "This is yours."

"Yeah," Beary said, obviously not getting it. Dexter held up a paper. "See this? This is my birth certificate."

"Here is yours." Dexter held up a tracking device. He handed it to Beary and said, "The rangers used it to track you."

"So…what's your point?" Beary asked. Dexter was quite exasperated and held up his hands and said, "Forget it."

Beary picked up a photo of Mom and Dad holding Beary as a cub.

"That? That's the day Mom and Dad got you and Danni."

"What do you mean, got…me?"

"I mean picked you up, man. You and Danni were left alone. They brought you home, showed you a bunch a Barney videos, and they pretended you were their son. You don't belong here."

"Dexter!" I admonished.

"Well, what? It's true!"

"Still…"

"Did you know about this, Danni?" Beary asked.

"Beary…"

"Did you?"

"Yes, I did. I figured it out a couple years ago. Mom and Dad asked me not to tell you. They said that they would tell you when you were older. I'm sorry, Beary."

He looked confused and betrayed but he said, "Its okay. You were only keeping your promise."

Later that night, I was woken up by Beary. He was shaking me and saying, "Danni, wake up. Wake up. Come on, Danni."

"What, Beary? It's two o'clock in the morning, what?"

"I'm leaving."

"What?"

"Shh. I'm leaving to find my higher purpose. I want you to come with me."

It took me a minute to process what he was saying but then I realized that he was set on leaving and there was no way in hell that I was going to let him go out there alone, in the middle of the night.

"Alright, lemme pack a bag. Give me like five minutes."

He nodded and I got dressed and packed my bag and grabbed my guitar. Within five minutes, we were downstairs and Beary was writing a letter to Mom and Dad.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"Country Bear Hall."

"Alright. May I ask why we are going to Country Bear Hall?" I asked. It wasn't that I didn't want to go to Country Bear Hall, I wanted to very much, but I wasn't too clear on the point.

"Well, I figure, if we're going to find our higher purpose, why not start with a place that means a lot to both of us?"

I couldn't argue with that reasoning, and if I was being perfectly honest with myself, I've wanted to leave home for awhile now. I loved Mom and Dad and all, but I needed to find who I was, and I wasn't going to be able to do that while being smothered by my parents.

"Okay. Are you almost done with that letter?"

"Yeah. Do you want to add anything?" Beary asked me. I nodded and took the pen from him.

I read his note and it said, "Mom and Dad, I've left to find my higher purpose. Danni is with me. Love, Beary."

I thought for a moment, and then wrote this: "Mom, Dad, don't worry, even though I know you will. I'm with Beary and I will take care of him as best I can. We just need to find out who we are. Please don't be mad. I love you, love, Danni."

"Okay," I whispered, "let's go."

We headed out into the night and started walking down the street. I took one last look at our house and sent a mental "I love you" to my parents. We walked for awhile, until we reached a bus stop.

We got into in the bus that Beary said would start us on our journey to Country Bear Hall. As we sat down in our seats, I couldn't help but get excited that we were on our own now.


	2. Chapter 2

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING OTHER THAN DANNI. COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY.**

**Chapter 2**

It took us about a day and a half, but we finally made it to Country Bear Hall. It was amazing. I'd seen pictures of it before but to see it in person was something else entirely. It looked like Beary felt the same way because when we exited the covered bridge that led to the building itself, we both breathed out, "Country Bear Hall. Wow!"

Of course, we were snapped out of our daze by a large black convertible with a bull dozer and a wrecking ball ornament stuck onto its hood. It honked and we jumped out of its way.

"Hey!" Beary said. I shook my head and grabbed his hand and started walking up to the building.

As we approached the building, we heard a conversation between the convertible man and a bear that I recognized as Henry Taylor. Henry had been crossing out the price for a tour of Country Bear Hall (50 cents) and replacing it with a new price, 25 cents.

"25 cents? You have change for a hundred?" Convertible Man asked. Henry stood up and said with an air of annoyance, "Hello, Reed. I thought you weren't coming back until you could tear the place down."

_Tear down Country Bear Hall? That's something akin to tearing down Ford's Theater! You just don't do it!_ I thought. Beary appeared to be too in awe of Country Bear Hall itself to have been listening, but I was, and I wanted to smack this Reed guy already.

"That's a whole four days away, Henry!" Reed responded.

"The people that owned the bank before you wouldn't mind if I got behind on my payments a month or two. They'd cut me some slack!"

_That's right, Henry, you tell him!_ I thought.

"Uh-huh. How far behind are you right now?" Reed asked. I had a feeling he knew the answer just perfectly and was only asking to embarrass Henry.

"Uh…six…years," Henry told him.

"Six years, twenty thousand dollars; must be tough. You had a good run, Henry, but good things must come to an end, luckily. That also applies to lame junky things like Country Bear Hall. You like the sound of crunching wood? I do."

_Is this guy a sadist or something? Seriously, _I thought.

Henry just sighed and then I heard a creak. I noticed that a very large bear with dark fur and a trucker cap on was leaning out from the side of the building. _That must be Big Al_, I concluded.

Apparently Reed noticed him too, because he quickly disappeared again. Reed looked at Henry in confusion but Henry said nothing. Reed went to go investigate but only saw Beary and me putting a quarter each into the can that read "Pay Here".

"Oh like that's gonna help!" Reed sneered as he walked away. I heard him laughing and called after him.

"Hey, mister!" I said.

Reed turned around and said, "What?"

I smiled at him and said, "Up yours."

Beary laughed from behind me and I thought I heard Henry chuckle too. Reed, however, wasn't amused.

"What did you say to me, you little brat?"

"Are you deaf as well as stupid? I said, 'Up yours'."

Reed sneered at me and just walked away. I turned around and went back to Beary. Henry shrugged and shook his head, defeated. I know the fifty cents we contributed wasn't really going to help, but it was the gesture that counted, right?

Beary and I were standing in front of a wooden carving of the Country Bears, and as usual, I was looking at the Zeb carving. Then Big Al came up to us and said, "If you're gonna stand there, you might as well give me a hand."

He was moving a sign in front of the carving that said, "PARDON OUR NOISE WHILE WE DESTROY COUNTRY BEAR HALL."

Al was about to hammer in the first nail when Beary spoke up, and gesturing to the sign, said, "What's that?"

Al turned to him and said, "A sign."

I rolled my eyes and Beary said, "Yeah, but…'Destroy'."

"Right," Al said, turning to us again. "Well, they're going tear down Country Bear Hall."

"Tear down Country Bear Hall?"

"Yeah."

"_Tear down_ Country Bear Hall?"

"Uh…yeah."

"But why would they do that?" I asked.

Al looked at me and said, "Well…you heard Henry…we're six years behind on the payments. No money means no Country Bear Hall."

Just then Henry showed up and said, "Come on, I'll show you two around. You did pay for the tour, at any rate."

"Okay. C'mon Beary."

We followed Henry and Beary pushed open the door to the Hall.

"Yeah, this place would fill up every weekend night," Henry told us as we walked along the upper level of Bear Hall.

"Really?" Beary inquired.

"I tell you, a lot of great music was on that stage. There's Flat and Scruggs. Livy-Looks McGraw, Gomer! Jimi Hendrix opened here for Vanilla Fudge. But nobody, but _nobody_ was like the Country Bears. Hah! Place would be packed! People sittin' everywhere, even up in the rafters! Y'know, sometimes I climb up there just to hear the notes."

"What notes?" Beary asked.

"The music," Henry answered. Beary was too young to understand just what he meant but I understood perfectly; he was talking about the _memory_ of the notes and the music.

"The millions of notes that floated up there. Some of the best darn notes ever," Henry continued. Beary turned around and asked, "Well, why don't you stop them before they start to tear the place down?"

"Why? Twenty thousand dollars, that's why! You don't got it, I don't got it; goodbye Country Bear Hall!" Henry finished with a goodbye wave. "Hmm. I can't raise that kinda cash."

We walked back outside and Henry said, "Four days from now, the place comes a-tumblin' down."

_It's really too bad. I mean, all the memories, the notes and music. And besides, it's Country Bear Hall! It's practically a historical landmark! Wait a minute…notes…music…Country Bears! That's it! _I thought.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute, I got it!" Beary said. "I heard that some people have a higher purpose in life! We belong here! We belong here, helping you save this place!"

"Nah," Henry said quietly. Personally, I thought Beary was right. We didn't come all this way for nothing, I can tell you that!

"We can do it with a concert, to raise the money! We could get the band back together!" Beary exclaimed.

"Get the band back togeth-?" Henry asked.

"Uh-huh!"

"Get the -! Get the -! Aw, that's the stupidest thing -! Never in a million years!" Henry seemed unable to complete his sentences, he was so dumbstruck.

"But this place, Henry, it's historic," I interjected.

"No…"

"Yeah, the notes in the rafters!" Beary said.

"No…"

"I know they'll do it!"

"Come on, now," Henry said.

"They can play a show! Come on, I-!"

"Now stop it, okay? Just forget it! Stop it?"

"But wait, you're not -!"

"I SAID STOP! It's over!" Henry shouted. He turned around and walked into a part of Bear Hall, probably a back room.

"Come on, Beary. Let's just go…sit out in the field," I said.

He nodded and we walked off, but before we were completely out of earshot, I heard Henry say, "Dumb kid! Stupid idea!"

I shook my head and thought; _I don't think Henry is going to come around._

We stopped at thick tree that looked like a branch and sat down on it. We apparently both had the same idea because we both grabbed our guitars at the same time. I smiled at Beary and said, "'Where Nobody Knows My Name'?"

Beary nodded and we set to playing and singing. Before long, Henry walked over to us and said, "Hey."

I looked up at Henry with a warning in my eyes. If he yelled at Beary again, we would have a problem.

"Henry?" Beary said.

"Uh, well, if we're going to get the band back together, we're going to need some transportation."

Beary gasped and I beamed at Henry. _Okay, I was wrong; Henry did come around._

"What are your names, anyway?" Henry asked.

"Oh, I'm Danni, and this is Beary."

"Well, it's to meet you. I'm Henry Taylor."

A couple of minutes later, the original Country Bear tour bus was being unearthed from inside a barn that looked like it was only standing because the bus was in there.

It was extremely dusty and when it came to a stop, Henry said, "Haha! Beary, Danni, meet Roadie."

Roadie looked like he just stepped out the seventies.

"Hi," Beary said.

"Hey, Roadie," I said. I was a little more confident than Beary, but Roadie didn't take any notice.

"You seen my chicken?" he asked Henry.

"Um…" Henry was saved from answering when we heard a clucking sound.

"Get off my grass!" Al was telling the chicken. Roadie rushed over and picked up the chicken as Al said, "He was making a mess on my grass!"

"I'm sorry, Big Al," Roadie said.

"Yeah…"

When Roadie got back over to us, Henry gestured for us to climb into the bus.

"The original Country Bear tour bus!" he said when we climbed aboard. There were pictures everywhere and a couple gold records in frames. It was full with Country Bear memorabilia. It was great.

"Whoa!" I said.

"Oh, yeah. Pretty neat, huh?" Henry said to me. Then he spoke to Big Al, "Get the place ready for the concert, Big Al! I'm counting on ya! Let's hit it, Roadie."

As Henry climbed aboard, we could hear Big Al say, "Don't you worry about nothing, Henry! You just go…get them boys."

We drove off and decided that we would try to locate Fred first, because he was the only one who ever wrote Henry, therefore, Henry knew where he was.

"So…is Fred still in show business?" Beary asked Henry.

"Yeah…you could say that."

We parked the bus and made our way into a studio. It was very large and I had absolutely no idea how to locate Fred.

It took us awhile but we did find him. When we found him, he was jamming with Krystal Harris. It looked like he still had it; he was playing his harmonica wonderfully.

"Wow!"

"Whoa!" Henry said.

"There he is!" Beary pointed him out. We watched him for awhile and everything went well…until he forgot there was no audience and stage-dived. He landed flat on his face and Henry winced when he came in contact with the floor.

"C'mon, we better go down there," I said. We made it down the stairs and over to Fred in time for us to hear Fred say, "Wish I could play some more."

Henry smiled and said, "I might be able to help you out with that."

Fred looked up and said, "Henry?"

After Henry helped Fred up, we went over to his Security table and told him our plan.

"Get the band back together?" Fred asked.

"You can do it! You're Fred Bedderhead!" Beary said.

"The amazing, world famous, Fred Bedderhead!" I interjected.

"_The _Fred Bedderhead," Beary finished.

"Uh…who are these guys?" Fred asked Henry.

"That's Danni and Beary, and they're right!"

"But how you gonna get people to come to the show, Hen?" Fred asked.

_Hmm, fair point there, Fred_, I thought. _How were we going to do that?_

"Why don't you call Rip Holland, Hen?" Beary said.

"Rip Holland? The guy who stole the band from me? Ahh…call Rip! Yeah!" Henry said.

I put my paws on my hips and said, "Well, do _you_ have any other ideas, Henry?"

"Well…uh…no," Henry said.

"Alright then."

Henry wasn't happy about it, but he ended up calling Rip.

He must've picked up because Henry said, "Uh, Rip? Yeah. Uh, the boys and I are putting on a reunion show at Bear Hall this Saturday night…and…oh, no, no, no, Rip, Rip, Rip, I called…ugh…cause I thought we could put aside the old stuff, and uh, well, I was hoping you could promote the show. Well that's great! Haha, okay, this Saturday night at 8, then!"

Henry hung up and turned to Fred, Beary, and me and said, "He'll do it!"

"Great!" I said.

When we made it back onto the bus, Henry said, "Y'know, Fred, you were the only one who ever wrote me. Do you know where any of the other boys are?"

"Zeb never gave up the honey. Hangs out at a bar in Nuttville," Fred answered. I was sad that Zeb never gave up the honey, but I was excited to meet him.

Beary was looking at our scrapbook that we made of the Country Bears and Fred said, "Whoa, that's a nice scrapbook there, Beary."

"Thanks," he answered. "Danni and I have been working on it forever."

He turned to a picture of Fred and said, "I really like this picture. You used to have a lot of hair."

Fred rubbed the top of his head and I chuckled a little as he said, "Uh, yeah, well…oh, look at this one!" Fred wasn't very good at changing the subject subtly, but Beary went with it. The item that Fred was pointing out was a clipping of the Bears winning a talent show.

"Winning that talent show was our big break," Fred told us.

"What's an 'Arm Musician'?"I asked him.

"Oho, that's Benny Bogswaggle. He was real talented," Fred replied.

"But he was a bad loser!" Henry said.

"He hit Zeb with a chair," Fred told us. I didn't like this Benny Bogswaggle at all, simply because he hurt Zeb.

Henry noticed my expression at the photo of Bogswaggle and said, "Lemme guess, you're a Zeb fan?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I am."

"How old are you guys, anyway?" Henry asked me and Beary.

"I'm 18 and Beary is 11."

"So, you were only what, seven, when the band broke up?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Henry chuckled and said, "How time flies, huh, Fred?"

Fred nodded and then we arrived at the bar where Zeb apparently was.

It was called "The Hive". We walked in and up to the bar.

"Uh, excuse me, Miss?" Henry spoke to the bartender. She turned around and said, "Yeah?"

"Uh, would you happen to know if there's a Zeb Zoober here?"

"Zeb Zoober? The Zeb Zoober that sleeps on my floor? The Zeb Zoober that owes me $500; the Zeb Zoober that won't stop calling me 'Cha-Cha'?"

Just then, we heard, "Set me up, Cha-Cha!"

That voice was unmistakably Zeb's. "Sounds like him," Henry confirmed.

"Zeb Zoober…get rid of Zeb Zoober!" Cha-Cha muttered under her breath.

We went over to where his voice sounded and found him up against a Bark O' Scratcher. I shook my head and Henry said, "Hey there, Zeb."

Zeb lifted up his hat so he could see and I literally had to stop myself from squealing; he was just so cute in real life!

His voice was all shaky because of the Scratcher when he said, "Henry? Fred? Is that you?"

After we managed to get him away from the Scratcher and sat down at a table, we told Zeb the plan.

"Now come on, Zeb, what do ya say; you give up the honey and come with us."

"Guys, even if I wanted to leave town, I couldn't! I owe Cha-Cha over there a lot of money."

We turned to look at Cha-Cha and then Zeb turned to me and said, "Who are you, anyway? I know for a fact we haven't met; I would remember a face as pretty as yours."

I smiled and said, "No we haven't met before, Zeb. I'm Danni. Danni Barrington."

Zeb grinned and winked at me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Danni," he said, taking my hand and kissing it. I giggled quietly at him. _Oh my god, Zeb Zoober is flirting with me!_

Henry smacked him on the arm and said, "Cool it with the charm, Romeo, she's a kid."

"Oh. How much of a kid?"

"I'm eighteen."

"Oh!" Zeb said, seemingly much happier now that he knew I was legally an adult.

Beary seemed to be considering something as Fred said, "I'm hungry. You wanna split an order of Salmon fingers?"

"Oh, Fred," Henry said.

"How about twigs and berries?" Fred asked. Then Beary gasped and ran off over to the bar and started speaking with Cha-Cha.

Zeb turned around and watched Beary before looking at Henry and asking, "Hey, what's that boy doing?"

"I don't know," Henry said.

"I guess we'll find out," I said, as Beary rejoined the group and said, "You're Zeb Zoober!"

"Well, that may be true, but I…who is this guy?"

"Oh, that's Beary," Henry told him.

"He's my little brother," I added.

Zeb nodded and then Cha-Cha got up on stage and spoke into the mike.

"Ladies and Gentleman, can I have your attention here for one minute? Now, as most of you know, Zeb Zoober owes me a whole heap of money."

People around us assented and Cha-Cha continued, "Well, his little friend there has proposed a wager: my house band versus Zeb's fiddle in a little musical duel."

Zeb looked excited about this and I smiled. "Now, if he wins, he owes me nothing, but if he loses…I get to keep the Country Bear tour bus. This should be good."

_Oh, no, Beary, what have you done?_

Everyone looked at him and Henry stood up and said, "Son, that bus is our only means of transportation!"

I stood up in defense of my brother and said, "Back off, Henry." Henry sat back down and said nothing.

Roadie then said, "Not to mention, that's where I raised my kids."

"Plus, I don't think you've all seen the house band," Zeb said, pointing to the stage. They looked good, but were they good?

Zeb looked terrified now but he stood up and I said, "Hey, Zeb, you're going to do fine. Don't worry."

He smiled at me and walked up on stage with his fiddle. The music started playing and I had to admit: they were good.

The guitarist started singing: _Hey, there, bear, I know you'd like a little honey_

_But your credit's no good, man: you're outta money_

_I heard you can play the fiddle with the best_

_Well, I'm here a-putting you to the test_

_I'm hereby challenging you to a duel_

_Between my guitar and your fiddle_

_You fuzzy fool!_

He went into a pretty awesome guitar solo and when he was done, Zeb sang: _Hey there, mister, that was pretty good_

_For a local bartender, in the neighborhood_

_I'm a little rusty now, I'll admit_

_But I ain't afraid you, not one bit!_

_I hereby accept your challenge to a duel_

_Between your guitar and my fiddle _

_You crazy fool!_

Here they both sang together: _I'm only in it for the honey_

_It makes my head feel kinda funny_

Zeb: _Gimme that golden nectar_

_Straight from the bees_

_Bartender, won't you give me some of that, please!_

Zeb went into what was clearly supposed to be a fiddle solo, but it turned into a disaster.

Fred said, "I'd better call a cab!"

Only Beary was cheering and I shouted, "Come on, Zeb! You can do it!"

He stopped his "solo" and the guitarist sang: _Well, hey, there, Mr. Fuzzy, well, I guess that settles that_

_Leave your tour bus parked out front_

_And the keys under the mat_

Zeb looked right at me and sang: _Well, hold on just a minute, hold that jive_

_Because I can feel this fiddle bout to come alive_

This time Zeb played a beautiful fiddle solo and they started dueling it out on their instruments. Eventually, Zeb's fiddle overpowered that guy's guitar and Zeb won. He was free from his debt!

And we kept the tour bus! I knew he could do it!

Apparently Zeb was so happy, that he promptly fell right over.

I went over to him and helped him up. "I knew you could do it, Zeb!"

He smiled and said, "Yeah, well, I thought I was a goner for a minute there."

"Come on, let's get outta here."

"Yeah, now that I'm free from the debt, let's go!"

We left The Hive and climbed aboard the tour bus once more, but this time, we had Zeb. Of course, I sat down right next to him and as we were driving, we played a song.

I played my guitar and Zeb played his fiddle and Fred played his harmonica.

When they were done, Fred told Beary that the harmonica he was playing was the one his father gave him. I knew that Beary was missing Mom and Dad but there was nothing to be done just now.

Zeb turned to me after he put his fiddle away and said, "You know, Danni, you're a really good guitar player."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

Zeb smiled and said, "How long have you been playing?"

"Oh, since I was about 6 or 7. I taught myself."

Zeb looked impressed and he said, "Wow. I taught myself too, but to do it at six years old…"

I beamed at him and he said, "You know, you should smile like that more. You really are very pretty."

"Zeb…" Henry said in warning.

"I know, I know, I'm just saying!" he said quickly.

"Zeb, I was wondering, whatever happened to Tennessee?"

"Saw him a couple years ago. He's still the same heart-broke, mixed-up, psycho basket-case crybaby."

"So what's he doing?"

"He's a marriage counselor."


	3. Chapter 3

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANNI. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY**

**Chapter 3**

It took us awhile to find Tennessee's office but we eventually did see it. Actually it was me that saw the sign.

It read: TENNESSEE O'NEAL: MARRIAGE COUNSELOR

When I saw it, I said, "Look there it is! Right there, Roadie!"

"Okay, I see it," Roadie said, turning into the parking lot. We walked in and Henry walked up to the receptionist.

"Hello, miss, we're here to see Tennessee," he said. She looked up at Henry and said, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well, uh, no, but we're old friends, and…" Henry trailed off, gesturing to the rest of our group. I was standing with Zeb (surprise, surprise), and Beary was with Fred. It's not like I was stalking Zeb, I just liked to be around him. He had this aura, I suppose you'd call it, that made me feel completely at ease. And he didn't seem to mind me being around him all the time, because he hadn't told me to bugger off or anything. In fact, if anything, he seemed exceptionally happier when I was around him.

The receptionist's eyes got wide when she saw Fred and Zeb. "Oh my god; you're the Country Bears, right? Oh well, you go right ahead. He has an appointment right now, but once the couple exits his office, you're free to go in."

"Thank you, miss," Henry said with a smile. She nodded and we went past her desk and into the hallway that led to Tennessee's office. Zeb snorted when we reached the door and I looked at him in confusion.

"What's so funny?" I asked him. He pointed to the plaque on the door and I read it: "Dr. Tennessee O'Neal."

"What's so funny about that? It's just his name, Zeb."

Zeb was shaking with laughter and said, "Yeah, but…Doctor! I never thought I see the day when the word Doctor came before Tennessee's name!"

His laughter was infectious and I couldn't help but laugh along with him. Henry rolled his eyes and we sat down in the chairs that were outside Tennessee's office. Not five minutes later, a couple came out and closed the door behind them. Before they did, however, we could hear crying and blubbering sounds coming from inside the office.

"I feel better," the wife said. The husband looked at her and said, "He's good." They walked off and Henry stood up and the rest of us followed. He knocked on the door and we heard, "Oh…come in…" accompanied by some sniffles.

We entered the office and when Tennessee turned around in his chair, his eyes widened and he said, "Huh? Don't tell me you're getting' the band back together?"

Henry smiled and said, "Tennessee, we're getting the band back together!"

Tennessee blinked a couple of times like he was in shock and then he got up. He was still young and by the looks of it, Zeb was the same age as Tennessee, which looked to be about 37 years old. He smiled and hugged Henry, Fred, and Zeb all in turn.

"I gotta say, it is good to see you guys again. I mean, I saw Zeb a couple years ago, but still…"

"So, Tennessee, why don't you come with us?"

"I don't know guys. I've got a career now; I can't just walk away from it."

"Come on, Tennessee. We need you."

"Alright, look, how about we go to Johnie's for breakfast and you can tell me what this is all about, alright?" Tennessee said. We nodded and got Tennessee in the tour bus and he told Roadie where to go.

While Roadie was driving, Tennessee looked at me and Beary as though he only just realized that we were there. "Who are you two, now?"

I smiled at him and said, "I'm Danni, and this is Beary."

"Ah. And why are you here?"

Henry turned to Tennessee and said, "Well, this whole thing was these kids' idea. They arrived at Country Bear Hall and…well, you see, boys…they're gonna tear down Country Bear Hall."

"What?" the three former Country Bears yelped. Henry nodded and said, "Yeah, well, anyway these kids showed up and Reed Thimple, the man who owns the bank, was kinda mean to them, Danni told him to shove it, and then they came up with the plan to save Country Bear Hall with a benefit concert and getting you guys back together."

"Wow," Zeb said. Then he turned to me, "So you actually told that weasel banker to shove it?"

I nodded and he laughed. "Well, actually, it was better than that," Beary said. "What she actually said was 'up yours' after he laughed at us for trying to help."

Everyone laughed then and I said, "Then he said, 'What?' like he didn't understand me and I said, 'What are you deaf as well as stupid? I said, 'Up yours.''."

Henry said, "Honestly, though, I've wanted to tell Reed that for years. Just didn't have the guts. Glad someone did, though."

I smiled at Henry and then we reached the diner. We got inside and we were seated. We told Tennessee the whole plan and he said, "I'm sorry, guys. I just can't play the Thang, not without Trixie there, I…"

He trailed off miserably and Beary asked, "Why'd she break up with you?"

"Was it that sweater you're wearing?" Zeb asked. I had to suppress a giggle in the face of Tennessee's misery. Zeb winked at me as though he knew I was trying not to laugh.

"Took off with a rich, millionaire, real-estate guy. A panda!" Tennessee told us.

"What's with the pandas? They get everything!" Fred said.

"You're telling me!" Tennessee said.

"Personally, I think pandas are vastly overrated. I mean, yes, the colors are nice, but other than that, they aren't that great. Besides, all that ego-boosting stuff they get makes them so stuck up! I'll stick to a good Country bear, thank you very much," I said. Beary looked at me with his eyebrows raised and Zeb just said, "It's a miracle! We've found a girl who prefers bears like us to pandas!"

Everyone laughed at Zeb and while everyone was busy laughing, he whispered to me, "I'm glad you don't like the pandas better than us."

I smiled at him and said, "Well, I'm glad you're glad."

"You're sure it wasn't that sweater?" Zeb asked, once everyone stopped laughing.

"Zeb!" Henry said. Zeb shrugged and Tennessee continued.

"If I knew where she was, I'd be there in a second. But even if I could play, who'd come? No one cares about the Country Bears no more! Nobody even knows who we are!"

Just then, Tennessee was proven wrong when the waitress came over and handed us menus and said, "Hey how's everybody doing?"

Then she looked at Tennessee and said, "Oh my gosh, you're the Country Bears."

"You know who we are?" Tennessee asked hopefully.

"Sure. You guys inspired me to go after my dream to become a famous singer!"

"Did ya make it?" Fred asked.

Zeb scoffed and said, "Yeah, Fred, she made it; she just works here for the free uniform."

Fred growled at him and Zeb turned to the waitress and said, "Sorry, no offense."

"None taken. I'm still working on it. I even do one of your songs, 'Kick It into Gear'."

That was an old song, but a good one. "That old thing?" Zeb asked.

"Blow the dust off that one," Fred said.

"Well, I kinda got my own arrangement. _Sometimes you just gotta kick into gear!_" she sang. She was really good and it sounded as though she modernized the song.

"Hey come on, sing it! Come on!" one of the cooks yelled.

And so she did: _When your grip keeps slippin' and  
>your clutch is gone.<br>Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh  
>you're tired<br>spinning your wheels on  
>your brains front lawn.<br>ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh  
>Well keep your asphalt under,<br>sunny side up  
>A gas credit card<br>and a giant coffee cup  
>The rest of your life is gonna<br>find you here  
>Get up on the highway and<br>kick it into gear,  
>Kick it in gear,<br>kick it in gear  
>That's the only way you're gonna<br>get em out of here  
>Kick it in gear,<br>kick it in gear  
>sometimes you just got to<br>kick it into gear  
>Hydro-matic or a turbo drive.<br>ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh  
>Well it ain't the destination<br>it's the ride, ride, ride  
>ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh<br>Put the heavy to the metal  
>and grab onto the road I hear your motor runnin' it's about to explode<br>Still be waitin' this time next year  
>Head on down the highway<br>and kick it into gear  
>Kick it in gear,<br>Kick it in gear  
>That's the only way you're gonna<br>get em out of here  
>Kick it in gear,<br>Kick it in gear  
>Sometimes you just got to<br>kick it into gear  
>Whoo!<br>Oh yeah!  
>Kick it in gear,<br>kick it in gear  
>That's the only way you're gonna<br>get em out of here  
>Kick it in gear,<br>kick it in gear  
>So if you want to yeah<br>Kick it in gear,  
>kick it in gear<br>That's the only way you're gonna  
>get em out of here<br>Kick it in gear,  
>kick it in gear<br>Sometimes you just got to kick it into gear._

When she was done singing, everyone was transfixed. I was the only one of our group that didn't have my mouth wide open.

"So how do you like your eggs?" she asked.

Zeb was the first one to snap out of it. "Hot!" he said.

"Yeah like us!" Fred interjected. She laughed and walked away.

"I guess people do remember us," Tennessee said.

"Yeah," Zeb said. "Henry's even on TV!"

We turned around and watched the TV. It was the news. The man was saying, "The Police believe that this man," it flashed a picture of Henry, "is involved in the abduction of this ten year old boy," it flashed a picture of Beary, "and this eighteen year old girl," it flashed a picture of me.

We couldn't believe what we were seeing. Kidnapping? Uh, no, try we went willingly with them because it was our idea!

"Police also believe that his accomplices are this man," it flashed a picture of Fred, "this man," a picture of Roadie, "and this chicken," it flashed a picture of Mr. Chicken, "who are all traveling in this bus," it flashed a picture of the tour bus.

"We'll keep you updated on Bus Watch!" the reporter finished.

We turned around and Henry sunk as low as possible in his seat and covered his face with his menu.

"You guys are kidnappers?" Zeb asked. I glared at him and he fell silent.

"Of course not, Zeb!" Henry said.

"Guys," Beary said, "I think we have a problem." We looked where Beary was pointing and gasped.

Two police officers had just entered the diner.


	4. Chapter 4

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANNI. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY.**

**Chapter 4**

We booked it as fast as we could out of that diner and luckily the singing waitress had seen the news and helped us out. She didn't believe that Henry, Fred, Roadie, and Mr. Chicken abducted me and Beary so she let us out the back way and we ran for the bus. We all made it on, but Beary ran back to give the waitress a hug.

"Beary! Come on!" I leaned out of the door and noticed that the police officers were looking out the window at us. We had to get out of here, NOW!

Beary came running and I pulled him inside. "Are you out of your mind?" I asked him when I got him inside.

"What?"

"Those police officers saw you and me!"

"Oh, sorry," Beary apologized.

"Whatever, it's okay. We need to get the hell outta here, like NOW!" I said. Roadie started driving, but unfortunately, the police officers were following us.

"Pull over! Pull over! Pull over immediately, or…uh…we'll make you pull over!" one of the officers called over the loudspeaker in his car.

"Shake these sunnas," Henry told Roadie.

"Shake 'em!" Beary said. And shake them Roadie did.

He started driving so fast and changing lanes so quick; I had no idea how the cops were going to be able to follow. In fact, we in the bus we're having trouble staying still in our seats because the bus was moving so much. I was next to Zeb and he was holding onto his hat and I was holding onto him so I wouldn't go flying. Tennessee was trying to brace himself by pressing his paw flat against the wall. Fred was holding a pillow in front of him like a shield. Henry was standing up and trying not to fall over while Beary was whooping and having the time of his life.

"I'm scared!" Fred said, squeezing the pillow tighter.

"All right, it's time to lose these guys," Roadie told us.

"I need honey!" Zeb cried.

"How about a little thing I call hiding in the car wash?" Roadie said.

"Uh, how's that work?" Henry asked.

"We hide in the car wash," Roadie told him.

"Oh."

Roadie turned the bus around a corner so fast that I literally fell out of my seat and onto the floor of the bus.

"You know what, I'll just stay here," I said.

Roadie pulled into the car wash and we actually hid in it. Unfortunately, the cops followed us.

"Guys, they're right behind us," Beary said.

"Hit it, Roadie!" Henry told him.

Roadie looked at him and said slowly, "Henry…"

"Yeah?"

"We're in a car wash."

While we were in it, I got up off the floor and took my seat next to Zeb again.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm all right. Scared out of my mind that I'm gonna be arrested, but otherwise, I'm okay."

"You aren't going to be arrested, Zeb."

"How do you know?"

"Because we're gonna shake these losers."

Zeb looked at me like he didn't really believe me but he said, "I'll take your word for it."

I nodded and turned around to look out the back window. I couldn't really see anything but I could just barely make out the shape of the police car.

It looked like the police officers were sucked into the car wash itself when they rolled down their windows. I laughed at the sight of their car moving without them and went back to my seat with Zeb.

"Told ya we'd lose em," I said to Zeb. He nodded and put his arm around me.

"Should've known to trust you, Danni," he said, smiling at me.

I smiled and leaned into him. Beary raised an eyebrow at us but didn't say anything. Fred and Tennessee were too busy hyperventilating to notice anything. I would've bet that the bus was nice and clean now, and that the police would have a hard time catching up to us now.

"Haha! You still got it, Roadie!" Zeb said. "You, too, Mr. Chicken."

We kept driving until night and I never moved from my position with Zeb. I dozed off for awhile and when I started coming back into the land of the living, I heard Henry and Zeb arguing.

"…she's a kid, Zeb. Eighteen years old! And you're thirty-seven," Henry said.

"I know that! But she's an adult, legally. 'Sides, I don't know what you're so fussed about, Hen, it's not like a girl like her would ever be interested in a guy like me!"

"Zeb, all's I'm saying is, be careful. She may have curled up next to you, but that don't make it right for you to play with her feelings!"

"Be quiet, Henry! Both she and Beary are asleep. Poor things are exhausted. And I'm not playing with her feelings, Hen! I like her, I do. In fact, I think I love her. But once again, she probably doesn't see me like that, anyway."

He sounded sad when he said that last part and part of me wanted to tell him 'of course, I see you like that! How could I not, Zeb? I love you.'

And it was true; since I met Zeb, I had fallen deeper and deeper in love with Zeb. Only problem was, I didn't know how or even if I was going to tell him.

"Roadie," Henry said, "we should stop for the night. I think we're all exhausted."

"Yeah, I'll pull into the next motel I see," Roadie answered. I figured I should wake up, because I would need to wake Beary up, and that could take a while. I shifted a little and opened my eyes. Henry looked down at me and then up at Zeb, as though worried I had heard their little conversation.

"Well, hey there, sleepyhead," Zeb said. I sat up and Zeb removed his arm from around my shoulders.

"Hello to you, too," I said as I stretched. Zeb grinned at me and when I looked in his eyes, I saw something there. Something that looked a lot like the way Dad looked at Mom sometimes.

_Maybe he does love me_, I thought.

"Ah, a motel! Here we go!" Roadie pulled into the parking lot and I stood up.

"You guys go on ahead, I'm gonna wake Beary up."

"Nah, it's okay, we'll wait," Fred said.

"Thanks." I turned to my sleeping brother and knelt down beside him. I shook his shoulder and said, "Beary, come on wake up, dude. Come on, wakey, wakey, Sunshine."

Beary stirred and he woke up. He blinked a couple of times and said, "What's going on?"

"We're stopping for the night. Up you get."

Beary nodded and got up. We walked into the motel and checked into a room for the night. We went up to the room and I collapsed onto a chair and Zeb turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. Fred sat on the bed with Henry and Tennessee took one of the other chairs.

Beary spoke up and said, "I noticed a payphone outside. I'm gonna call my parents and tell them we're okay and that we haven't been abducted or anything."

"Okay. Do you want me to go with you?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No that's okay."

"Alright, tell em I said hi!"

He nodded and walked out of the room. Zeb actually found a channel that was playing a Country Bear cartoon. We watched it for awhile, but it was kind of pathetic. It was something about an alien and only Fred's harmonica notes could disrupt its brainwaves or whatever.

When it was over, Henry turned off the TV and Zeb said, "That was bad…"

I snorted softly and Zeb just shook his head. About a minute later, Beary came rushing in and said, "Tennessee, Tennessee, remember when you said, you'd do anything to find Trixie, to get her back? Well, guess what?"

Tennessee seemed lost for words, so I took pity on him and said, "She's here?"

Beary nodded and said, "Yeah, she's appearing tonight!"

"Well, let's go!" We rushed out of the room and downstairs to the where Trixie was appearing. She was just finishing a song and it appeared that no one was really listening. When it came to the end, she said, "Thank you…"

Tennessee snuck in and sat down at the bar, planning to surprise her. The rest of us waited in the back of the room. She noticed that everyone was paying attention to the game on TV and not her and she said, "…for not listening."

Tennessee stood up and said, "Well, uh, I am."

"Tennessee!" Trixie gasped. She spoke into the mike instead and said, "This next song was written by an old friend of mine. He wrote it a long time ago, when he was my…in a band, called the Country Bears."

"Woohoo! Bears rock!" some random guy shouted.

Trixie went over to the piano and sat down and started playing and singing: _Did I lose your love a long time ago?_

_Did I just wear it out?_

_Baby I don't know._

Tennessee walked up to the stage and said, "Oh, Trixie. I'm all a mess on account of how much I miss you. I…" Trixie walked over to him.

"Tennessee," Trixie cut him off and held up a paw to silence him and then lowered it so that she was holding out her paw for him to take. He took it and she guided him onto the stage with her.

She sang: _Because it seems like anymore, we're not on the same page_

_In the same book_

_Or on the same stage_

Tennessee grabbed a mike and started singing: _Don't look at me like I'm a stranger now_

_Have I changed that much?_

_Baby, tell me how_

They sang together: _We said forever, for always, for good_

_But the years were not impressed_

Fred started blubbering and Henry said, "Oh, Fred, stop your blubbering!"

"It's so cute!" Fred wailed.

_Can love stand the test, of time that surrounds us?_

_Moments that astound us?_

_Can love stand the test, of time that surrounds us?_

_Moments that astound us?_

_Joy and happiness_

_Joy and happiness_

_Joy and happiness_

The song ended and Tennessee and Trixie hugged. "I think we just got Tennessee," Beary said. I slipped my paw into Zeb's and smiled up at him. He squeezed my hand gently and I said, "I think so, too."


	5. Chapter 5

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANNI. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY.**

**Chapter 5**

When Trixie and Tennessee got off the stage, he led her over to us.

"I think you'll remember these guys, Trix…"

She gasped when she saw Henry, Fred, and Zeb. "Oh my god. It's so good to see you guys!"

She hugged the three guys all in turn and when she was done, Tennessee said, "And this is Danni and Beary."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, Trixie," I said. She smiled and said, "Well, it's nice to meet you too. Are you Zeb's girlfriend?"

"What? No…"

Henry looked at Zeb suspiciously and Trixie said, "Oh, I just thought you were…you guys are holdin' hands…"

"Oh, would ya look that, we are holdin' hands…" Zeb trailed off, laughing nervously. We let go of each other's hands and Henry said, "This whole reunion thing was Danni and Beary's idea."

"Oh, well, thank you, guys. I've been missing my Tennessee so much."

"No problem, Trixie."

"So what's this about, anyway?" Trixie asked. We told her all about them tearing down Bear Hall and how we had this plan for a benefit concert.

"So, what do you say, Trixie? Will ya do it?"

"Oh, absolutely, of course I will."

"Great! Now there's only Ted left. He's going to be the hardest to get, I think," Henry said.

The next morning, we set off again after Henry called Ted and asked him to do the concert. Henry came back on the bus and said that Ted was in and we just needed to go pick him up.

_I thought Ted would be tougher to get than that, considering how stubborn he always seemed to be. It's a little suspicious, but whatever…_

We drove for awhile and Beary took a nap but I stayed awake, sitting next to (you guessed it) Zeb. I briefly wondered if he was getting annoyed with my constant presence, but he didn't say anything and Zeb seemed like the type of guy that voiced his opinions and thoughts without any problem.

When we got there, we arrived outside of a very large mansion. I whistled at the view of it and Zeb said, "Woohee. Razzle Dazzle. Looks like old Ted's done pretty good for hisself."

"Why don't you borrow the twenty-thousand from him, Hen?" Tennessee asked.

"Don't look like he'd miss it much," Fred commented.

"Okay guys. Now, one thing at a time, okay? One thing at a time?" Henry said, turning to a call box. He sighed and said, "I gotta do everything." He pressed a couple buttons and said into it, "Right. Hello? Hello, we're looking for a Ted Bedderhead?"

Fred interjected with a joke, "And two orders of French fries and a shake." He laughed at his own joke and Henry just shook his head and said, "Fred…"

"What?"

Instead of dealing with the call box again, Henry went up to the gate and called out to a man crouching on the lawn in overalls. It looked like he was gardening.

"Uh, excuse me? Excuse me?"

The man turned and sighed and got up. He walked over to the gate and said, "Can I help you?"

"Uh yeah, Ted Bedderhead? He's, uh, an old friend of mine…is he here?"

"No, he's, uh, not here. He's probably still at the country club at the wedding."

"Right, the Country Club. Well, thank you," Henry said. Zeb nodded and was about to turn away when the man said, "You're the Country Bears, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm, uh…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're a big, big fan, and we get it all the time and that's real nice, young man, but we gotta run, thank you very much. Come on, Beary!"

Henry walked away and Beary followed him after saying goodbye.

"That guy looks a lot like Elton John!" Zeb said to me. Fred shook his head and said, "Nah! Elton John's taller."

We went back on the bus and Roadie started driving to the Country Club. When we were pulling up, Henry said, "Now, Ted might be a little surprised to see us, so, uh, just let me do the talking alright?"

"I thought you said he knew we was coming?" Fred said.

"He does, but, uh, let's not embarrass him in front of his rich friends."

We made our way to the entrance and Henry said, "All right, Fred, let's find your brother."

"Uh, yeah, my brother…uh, I'm going to get something to eat first."

"What?"

"Yeah, eat first."

"Right behind ya, big guy," Zeb said. I made to follow him, but Henry grabbed my shoulder and said, "Nuh-uh. You're staying with me and Beary."

I pouted but said nothing. It was probably better that way, anyway. I didn't want to get on Ted's bad side when we first met. I knew how temperamental he was said to be.

We walked in and Zeb and Fred went off to find some food. Tennessee and Trixie went off to the dance floor and I stuck with Henry and Beary. Before long, Ted spotted us and he walked over to Henry, Beary, and me. He did not look happy.

"Hey, hey there…" Henry trailed off when he saw Ted's face.

"What are you doing here, Henry?" Ted asked.

"Uh, well…" Henry started.

"Wow, Ted Bedderhead, hahaha! I'm such a big fan! Oh, I think it's great you're gonna play in the show and save Country Bear Hall!"

I covered my brother's mouth with my paw and mouthed, "Sorry" to Ted. He looked at Henry and said, "Play in the show? Henry…"

"No, no, no, well…we just thought we'd drop by and see if we all –."

"We? All?" Ted repeated. "They're here?"

He whirled around and saw Fred and Zeb talking to an older lady and making her laugh, Tennessee and Trixie dancing together.

He walked over to Fred and Zeb and ejected them from the wedding. After he got Tennessee and Trixie out as well, he brought all of us over to an empty part of the Country Club.

"What, what, _what_ makes you think that I would get back together with you guys?" Ted shouted. We all looked at Henry, who was lost for words.

"Look…that's where I started out. I'm not going back. When I said I was finished, I meant, I'm finished!"

"But, Mr. Bedderhead," Beary started. Ted spread his arms out and looked up at the ceiling, as though praying for patience. "We need everyone to make this happen!"

"Yeah, and we need you!" I told him.

"Now, listen, kids…I, uh…who are these guys?"

"That's Danni, and Beary!" everyone chorused. Ted shrugged and muttered, "No, no, no."

"That was a long time ago, kid," Ted told him. "Things change. Frankly, your little nostalgic field trip is y'know, kinda pathetic."

"Well, maybe it was. Sorry we bothered you, Ted," Henry said, sounding utterly defeated.

"People are waiting for me. You found your way in, you can find your way _out_!" Ted huffed and turned around and walked away.

"That guy's turned into a real –," Roadie started, but he was cut off from saying just what Ted had turned into by Mr. Chicken, who Beary and I figured out was a girl. We were going to tell them that Mr. Chicken was in fact Ms. Chicken, once we had them all together.

"I'm gonna go get the bus," Roadie said, walking off.

"My mistake, everyone. Don't know what I was thinking," Henry said. Tennessee waved him off, but Henry didn't see that, as he turned around and walked off too.

"It's not your fault, Henry. It's mine. This whole thing was my idea," Beary said. Zeb and I stuck around a little longer so we could wait for Tennessee, Trixie, and Fred.

"No, no, now, it's nobody's fault," Tennessee said. "But it might as well be mine! Why don't ya just -."

"Tennessee!" Trixie cut him off with a comforting paw on his shoulder.

"Right. Come on, Fred," Tennessee said. He and Trixie walked off but Fred didn't follow. We stayed with him and he sighed and said, "This. Ain't. Right. Come on, guys."

We followed Fred back into the wedding where we heard music playing. We searched for Ted but we couldn't find him…that is, until he started singing.

"_It's not unusual to be loved by anyone_

_It's not unusual to have fun with anyone_

_But when see you hanging about with anyone_

_It's not unusual to see me…cry_

Aw, I wanna die_._"

The music stopped as Ted trailed off after speaking the last part. He saw us.

"You…you're a wedding singer?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," Fred said.

"This…this ain't your party?"

"Nope."

"So…you're not rich."

"Yeah."

"And you _still_ won't play with us?"

"Nope. I'm _not_ going."

To me, he sounded like a petulant child when he said that, and I looked at Zeb. I was surprised to see the look of anger on his face. Fred simply looked disappointed.

"Aw, Ted, you don't gotta lie to us! You're family!" Fred looked down and when he looked back up, his face was contorted with anger. "_And you're going_!" And then Fred did something I never thought I'd see: he decked his brother so hard that he was knocked out cold.

How we even managed to get Ted out of there and onto the bus, I'll never know. Zeb and Fred carried him and I walked alongside them. When we got on the bus, I said, "We've got Ted."

"How?" Henry asked.

"Fred punched him. Knocked him out."

Henry helped Zeb and Fred get Ted onto the bus and Roadie started driving once everyone was on. Then I set to waking Ted up.

"Hey, Mr. Bedderhead…Ted, wake up. Come on, you big lug, wake up. He didn't punch you that hard, did he? Oh look, he's waking up!"

Ted started stirring and I helped him get up. "Are you all right?"

He looked at me like I had two heads and said, "No, I am not all right! I've been taken against my will!"

"Hey, don't get snippy with me, Ted; I'm only trying to help. And stop acting like you're the victim here! He wouldn't have had to knock you out if you hadn't been too much of a coward to face everyone!"

"You callin' me a coward, girl?" Ted tried to intimidate me by towering over me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zeb move to stand up and get in between me and Ted.

"Yeah, I am! You got a problem with that?"

Ted seemed to realize he couldn't intimidate me so he just sat down in one of the chairs. I sat down next to Zeb and he quietly asked, "You all right?"

"I'm fine. He isn't as scary as he likes to think."

"Why don't you tell us the truth?" Fred said.

"Fine…all these years, I couldn't face you guys. I pretty much lost everything. So, I've been trying to make a buck. Singing at weddings and stuff like that."

"Well, at least, you're not doing children's birthday parties," Zeb joked. Everybody laughed until they realized that Ted wasn't laughing and said, "Really?"

"But we saw your house," Trixie said. "…your gardener."

Ted scoffed and said, "That's not my gardener, that's Elton John."

"Told ya!" Zeb interjected. I patted his arm and Ted continued, "I rent a room over the garage from him."

"Well," Fred said, "now, brother, that's okay. Because we's all together again!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just because I'm telling the truth, doesn't mean I'm dumb!"

"Huh?"

Ted turned to Roadie and said, "Roadie, stop the bus!"

Roadie stopped and we all got off right there and walked into a field. Ted said, "Okay, have you rehearsed? What songs you gonna do? Who's doin' sound?"

"Well, we ain't exactly figured all that out, yet Ted!" Fred told his brother.

Ted sighed and said, "Same old Country Bears!"

"Come on, Ted," Zeb said, "I mean, you do kinda owe us! You _were_ the reason we broke up!"

Ted stopped and whirled around. "Well, there it is! Knew that was coming up! I'm the reason we stayed together, Zeb! Did any of you, _any of you EVER thank me_?"

"We all had our jobs to do, Ted," Zeb told him.

"Oh, right," Ted said. "Drinking," he pointed at Zeb, "blubbering," he pointed to Tennessee, "and staring into space," he pointed at Fred.

"Hey!" Fred said.

"What we were, was years ago!" Ted said.

"Blubbering…? I…I…" Tennessee started.

"Well, you were blubbering!" Zeb told him.

"Yeah, okay, there, Honey Bear!" Tennessee said.

They started fighting and Fred was trying to act as mediator between them but was failing miserably. I stepped in and yelled, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

Zeb and Tennessee looked at me in shock. They hadn't expected me to yell at them.

"Fighting is NOT helping ANYTHING!" I said. Zeb and Tennessee fell silent and Beary stepped forward.

"Y'know, in _People_ magazine in April 1983, you all said the Bears was like your family. And like a family, you -."

"Kid, that's just a bunch of meaningless publicity! You don't know nothing about the real Bears, understand! NOTHING! We are not a family."

Beary looked down and then back up at Ted. "You're right. This isn't a family. Because the people who love you no matter what…that's your family."

"Who told you that, Beary?" Henry asked.

"My Dad," he answered. Then this look came over his face and he repeated, "_My Dad_!"

He turned and looked at the other bears that were behind him and he started running, ignoring the callings of The Bears. He was going home.

"Where's he going?" Zeb asked me.

"Home," I answered. Then I whirled around and spoke to Ted, "You listen to me, you puffed-up, egotistical prick! No one talks to my brother like that! _No one_!" Ted looked incredibly hurt at my words but I didn't care.

And with that, I ran after my brother, without saying goodbye to any of them. I caught up to Beary and we ran home together. One thing was stuck in my mind though. I caught a glimpse of Zeb's face before I ran off. And he looked brokenhearted that I was running, leaving him behind. It nearly killed me to do it without telling Zeb how I felt but I had to.

I had to.


	6. Chapter 6

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANNI. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY.**

**AN: I'm going to try something a little different. This will be in Zeb's POV.**

**Chapter 6**

_Zeb's POV_

She was gone. I just had to keep telling myself that. Danni was gone, and she wasn't coming back. She went home. I just wished that home was with me. If I was being honest with myself, I had fallen in love with her. She's just so beautiful and smart, and everything that I have ever wanted. The way she stood up to Ted was amazing.

But now she was gone. Both she and Beary were gone. And their absence was being felt by all. We just sat on the bus, not even talking. I think we were all thinking about the two young bears that had just run off. I really wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, because I felt like a piece of me was missing without her there next to me.

Even Ted looked ashamed of himself. I think that he was actually quite hurt because of what Danni said to him. I know Fred was miserable, and so was Tennessee and Trixie. I'm sure Henry was. We all were.

And then Fred noticed something. "Oh, Beary and Danni left their stuff."

He pulled out the scrapbook that Danni and Beary made and opened it. Fred pulled out two pieces of paper, one with large writing on it, and one with a smaller, neater scrawl on it.

Fred handed one of them to me, and I read it out loud, "The Music Band that Changed My Life, by Danni Barrington, 12th grade."

It was an essay. "You often hear music artists saying how the discovery of music changed their life. And it's true; music can change somebody's life. It certainly changed mine. But it wasn't just a part of music that changed my life; it was a specific band. That band was The Country Bears. I was only about 9 when I discovered them but from that day on, they were my favorite band. The first ever song that I heard by them was 'Straight to the Heart of Love'. I can't say that is my favorite song, but I do love it. I don't really have a favorite. Some of their songs make me smile when I want to cry, and some of them just relax me when I'm stressed. If I'm ever sad, or upset, or even angry, I'll play one of their songs, and I'll forget why I was even sad, or upset, or angry. Their music moves something in me and made me part of who I am today. Without them, I don't know who I am. I was only seven when they broke up, but that didn't matter to me at all. They were my everything. They _are_ my everything. I love every member of The Country Bears, but I favored one of them in particular. Zeb Zoober, The Country Bears' fiddler. He quickly became my favorite and, honestly, I don't even know why. I just love him. When he plays his fiddle, for me, it's like the stars align. I don't know who or where I would be without The Country Bears and they made me learn to enjoy life all the more. They were my inspiration to really try at playing my guitar. They will forever be my absolute favorite band, because no other band makes me feel the way they do."

"Wow, Danni is a really good writer," Henry commented.

I nodded and said, "Says she got an A+ on it and there is a note from her teacher: Wonderful essay, but is everything about the Country Bears?"

"What's the other paper say, Fred?" I asked him.

Fred looked up and said, "It belongs to Beary. It says, My Hero, by Beary Barrington, Fourth Grade. My hero is really heroes, and my heroes are The Country Bears…"

I closed my eyes and held Danni's paper gently: it was all I had left of her.

"…Whenever I'm sad, I'll play one of their songs, and I'll forget why I was even sad at all. And if you met my brother, you'd know why I was always sad. I can't really say Zeb is my hero, or Fred, or Ted, or even Tennessee. But as The Country Bears, what they can do together makes them my heroes. I'd like to meet them one day; that would be cool. Says here: A+, but is everything about the, uh, Country Bears?"

Fred sighed and Roadie spoke up, "Beary and Danni are sharp little kids. This morning, they told me something else. Mr. Chicken…is a girl."

Trixie started giggling and Tennessee just shook his head. And then Ted spoke up.

"We have to go get them. I refuse to do this concert without them. I haven't had someone stand up to me like Danni did in a long time. And Beary, well, he is one of a kind."

"I agree. I gotta tell you guys something," I said. I had to tell them how I felt about Danni.

"Yeah, Zeb?" Fred said. I looked down at my paws and looked back up. "I'm in love. I've fallen in love with Danni."

My confession was met with five very shocked and confused faces, but Trixie just said, "I knew it!"

I smiled and Roadie said, "Well, then let's go!"

And just like that, we went off after them.


	7. Chapter 7

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR DANNI. THE COUNTRY BEARS BELONGS TO DISNEY, AS DO THE LYRICS TO 'STRAIGHT TO THE HEART OF LOVE'.**

**AN: this chapter is back in Danni's POV**

**Chapter 7**

_Danni's POV_

I was in Beary's room, helping him take down his pictures of The Country Bears from his wall. We weren't making much progress, but that might've been because we didn't really want to. I was far too in love with Zeb to really want to, anyway. I left my pictures up, but Beary insisted on taking his down.

"Beary, Danni! Pie!" yelled Dex.

I looked at Beary and said, "You wanna go down?"

He shook his head and said, "Not really in the mood for pie."

I nodded in understanding and we continued taking down the pictures. Then Dex came in and said, "Uh, Beary, Danni? Hey, that Ted guy is here. You want me to kick him out?"

"Ted? Ted Bedderhead…is here?" Beary said. Just then Ted came into the room and said, "Yeah…"

He looked at Dex, who left the room, giving the three of us privacy by closing the door on his way out. Beary quickly hid one of the photos behind his back, not wanting Ted to see.

"You, uh, you left your stuff on the bus…" Ted said.

"You can keep it," Beary said sadly. "I don't want it."

"Um…look, I, uh…." Ted trailed off as he saw all the photos of the Bears on Beary's wall. "…I hope you know how lucky you are. It only took you guys three days to understand something that took me ten years to figure out."

Ted sat down in Beary's computer chair, and we sat in front of him, looking right at him.

"What's that?" I said.

"Mr. Chicken _is_ a girl."

"Wha-?" Beary said. Ted started laughing and then we did too, realizing the joke.

"Really…" Ted said, "I wanted to tell you two, I'm sorry. I was mad. Not at you…and I'm sorry. And that thing you wrote in your journal about us being great when we're together, it's true."

Beary gasped and stood up. "You're gonna do the show?"

"No, we're not doing the show. Not without the both of you."

Beary cheered and I was so happy I actually hugged Ted. He laughed and hugged me back; apparently, he was glad he had gotten us to forgive him.

After we explained the situation to Mom, Dad, and Dexter, Ted led us to the door and he said, "Ya'll coming with me. We can all ride together on the…bus?"

Roadie, holding Ms. Chicken, came running up and said, "The bus was stolen! It was that Thimple fellow!"

"We have to find them! They have to do that show!" Beary said.

"Hey, Beary, that stuff was on the bus, right?" Dex asked.

"Yeah…"

"All your stuff?"

I figured out what Dex was getting at and the three of us ran upstairs and into Beary and Dex's room. Dex jumped over to the laundry basket and rooted through it until he found one of the parts of Beary's tracking device – the part that the rangers used.

"We can track em with this!"

"Yeah!" Beary assented.

"Come on, let's go!" I said.

We ran back outside and attempted to fit all of us into the minivan, but it was not going to happen, especially with Ted. We tried putting him in the passenger seat, the back seat, the trunk…we even tried tying him to the roof of the car.

Dad came running over and said, "Hey, hey, no, no…STOP!"

We stopped what we were doing and Dad said, "I have a better idea."

We finally got going with Mom, Dad, Roadie, Dex, and Beary in the minivan, and me and Ted in the speedboat that was hooked onto the back of the van. The boat tilted a little when Dad turned out of the driveway and Ted said, "Whoa, easy, Captain!"

We drove straight for awhile and then took a right. The boat tilted again and this time, Ted was hanging out of it and I was holding on for dear life. When the boat righted itself, Ted sat down again, saying, "Oh, my kidneys."

We then turned left and again Ted was just barely staying in the boat, only this time, Ted was getting whacked in the face by bushes and stuff. We turned right again and Ted went hanging again, only this time, he yelled, "Watch out!"

He came within an inch of death when a giant eighteen wheeler came around the corner and headed straight for Ted's head. I yanked him back in at the last moment because he was heavy and he let out a puff of breath and said, "Thanks."

"No problem."

We turned into a place and the fence had a sign on it that read: Danger! Open Trench!

"Danger!" Ted yelled.

I spotted the bus up ahead and Dad slammed on the brakes, going into the trench and the boat came unlatched and Ted and I went flying. The boat was literally flying through the air.

It soared right through the window and I covered my face when the glass shattered. We moved along and right ahead of us I could see the rest of the Bears trapped in a large cage. The boat started to slow down and stopped right as the tip of the boat came in contact with the door. But that little touch was enough. The door fell and I hopped out of the boat and said, "Never again! I am never going on a speedboat again! I don't care if it is in the water or not! Never again!"

Ted climbed out after me and said, "I'm with you, Danni."

I noticed that Zeb was up in the air, almost climbing the side of the fencing of the cage. He must have jumped out of the way of the boat.

"That was pretty nifty!" Zeb said, looking at Ted.

Ted looked at him and said, "Thanks."

Henry said, "Why don't we go show Thimple who's boss!"

"Yeah!"

And then Zeb pumped his fist in the air and yelled, "BEAAAAARRRR POWERRRRRR-RRRR…."

He trailed off when he realized he was the only one doing it. I grinned and when he managed to get out of the cage, I ran right over to him and threw my arms around his neck. He stumbled a little, but he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine! Are you okay? Did the glass cut you?"

"No, I'm good. Oh, I'm so glad you're safe. God, I love you, Zeb. I'm so in love with you."

"I love you, too, Danni."

I leaned back from the embrace and even though I knew everyone was watching us, I didn't care; I kissed him right then and there. He froze for a moment and then relaxed and started kissing me back. It was getting really passionate and then – "Ahem!"

Henry interrupted us.

"Yeah. Let's go!" he said. I grabbed Zeb's paw and we ran after Henry, Ted, Fred, Tennessee, and Trixie. We found Beary, Roadie, Mom, Dad, and Dex and introduced them to everyone. I leaned up to whisper in Zeb's ear, "I'm gonna tell my parents about us."

He nodded and I pulled my parents aside as we walked over to the tour bus.

"Mom, Dad, uh, Zeb and I are…uh, well, we're together."

"What do you mean, 'together'?" Dad asked.

"We're…uh…Daddy, we're in love. I love him and I am so hoping you approve."

"He's nearly as old as me!" Dad exclaimed. "But…if he really loves you, then, I'm okay with it."

"Yes! Thank you, Daddy!"

I ran over to Zeb and grabbed his paw and said, "They approve!"

"Oh, good," Zeb said.

We boarded the bus and Roadie started driving. After a while, Dex started taking pictures. He got one of me and Zeb kissing, even though I held up my paw to block the camera. It was a nice picture though. He got one of him and Beary, one of Mom, Beary, and Trixie, one of Zeb, me, Beary, and Fred, and one of Tennessee, Beary, and Ted. In that one, Ted had his arm around Beary. Then I took Beary's spot and Ted hugged me close and Tennessee put his hand on my shoulder. Dex snapped the picture and I went back over to Zeb, who was tuning his fiddle.

Dex called me over and snapped a picture of me and Beary with Henry. Dex asked Henry to take a picture of me, Beary, Dex, and Dad together. He did and it came out really nice.

It was night by the time we got to Country Bear Hall but we rushed in anyways. Unfortunately, no one was there except for Thimple and Rip Holland. They seemed to be exchanging money.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Henry cried.

Thimple turned to Henry and said, "I'm impressed. Wow, I'm telling you, I am so impressed! I cannot tell you how impressed I am. But, boys, it doesn't matter! The place is dead. Rip, eh, look at him. He never promoted the show!"

"What? Rip!"

"Wow. Uh, hey, guy, long time, looking good. Henry, you working out?"

"RIP!"

"It's not personal, Henry, its just business."

"Business? Business that'll ruin our lives! I can't believe you - !" Ted actually had to hold Henry back from ripping Rip to shreds.

"Hey," Big Al said, "ain't you guys doin' the show tonight?"

"Uh, there ain't gonna be one, Big Al. Nobody showed up," Fred said.

"What are you talking about, Fred?" he asked, flipping on the lights switches. "They's all out in the back field."

"They're what?" Henry asked.

"Didn't want anyone parking on my grass out front," Big Al replied. He opened the doors and….hundreds of people rushed in, all of them cheering and whooping.

Thimple and Rip were carried away by the force of the crowd, Thimple's threats overpowered by the noise of the crowd, which was pouring in from all directions.

Everybody took their seats and Mom and Dad and Dexter went down to the audience. The rest of us went backstage. Big Al came around with the money basket and Henry started counting it. It turned out that we raised the money and Country Bear Hall was saved!

Henry went on stage and said, "All right, folks! The numbers are in, and we saved Country Bear Hall!"

The Bears started tuning their instruments again and Beary and I stood up. "Good luck, you guys," I said. We were about to turn away when Tennessee said, "Hey, where are you going?"

"To sit in the audience," Beary said.

"Well that's a weird place for two Country Bears to sit during a Country Bears concert," Ted told us.

My eyes widened and Tennessee said, "Yeah, yeah, you guys are part of the band now, Danni."

Tennessee held out our guitars to us and Ted said, "Welcome aboard kids."

We went on stage and I went over to Zeb with a big grin on my face.

"I'm a Country Bear, now!" I whispered to him. He nodded and winked at me.

"It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, after an absence of many years, the one, the only, the Country Bears!" Henry said to the audience. He left the stage and the lights dimmed. Fred started playing his harmonica, and Zeb his fiddle, and the spotlight brightened on him and Zeb.

Ted moved into the spotlight and to the front microphone and started singing one of their most famous songs - if not _the _most famous - "Straight to the Heart of Love."

The spotlight opened on all of us and Zeb sang the next verse with Ted. I was playing my guitar and so was Beary. I couldn't believe that we were actually Country Bears now!

Tennessee and Trixie sang the next part together as I interally marvelled over how the past few days - had it really only been a few days? - had progressed. My brother and I had gone from unknown fans to real live Country Bears! And all because we wanted to find our destiny...

The tempo of the song increased and Tennessee really started jamming out on his One-String Thang.

A few moments later, Tennessee switched instruments with me and said, "Go, Danni, go!" I went up to the front of the stage and just started rocking out on the thing!

I was pretty good, if I do say so myself! It wasn't until that moment that I knew I could play the One-String Thang.

We finished the song and everybody went wild. I was jumping up and down and after we went backstage, Zeb took me into his arms and said, "You were amazing, baby!"

I kissed him and said, "Thanks, Zeb."

Tennessee came over and I gave him his Thang back. "You shredded on this thing, Danni! You were awesome! You and Beary!"

"Thanks, Tennessee."

Tennessee went over to Trixie and kissed her. I looked at Zeb and said, "I love you, babe."

He grinned and said, "I will never get tired of hearing you saying that. I love you, too."

I kissed Zeb passionately and once again, we were interrupted. But this time it was due to the lack of oxygen, not Henry.

When we did separate, there were hugs all around and after about five more songs, we were able to relax and just sleep.

Being a Country Bear is tiring, but I wouldn't give it up for the world.


End file.
